Princess Of The Handicapped' Devotes Her Time To Others

It was through the chance meeting of a paraplegic in 1977 that a distressed Emily Salvatore began her work for the handicapped.

The Sellersville woman, herself handicapped and bound to a wheelchair, was depressed, confused and hospitalized at the time she met a man needing water therapy.

The Upper Bucks County YMCA had the pool in which the man could take the therapy but he had no way of getting in and out of the water without scraping his back on the pool's ledge.

Emily began selling chances in a lottery, organized a CB Jamboree and approached the Quakertown Jaycees about speaking to them over the need for money to purchase a lift for the YMCA.

She spoke to, and graciously accepted a contribution from, the Jaycees. She raised money through the jamboree and lottery and purchased the lift for the YMCA.

And from there on her advocacy and fund-raising role on behalf of the handicapped "blossomed," she says, into the incorporated "Friends of the Handicapped" organization of which Emily now serves as president.

She began writing letters to different organizations explaining the unmet needs of the handicapped in Upper Bucks - most pressing among them the need for transportation.

That became her next goal.

And, within two years, she had raised enough money to purchase a bus with a hydraulic lift.

Continuing her work with the Y, she helped to make the facility accessible to the handicapped by having a ramp installed at the entrance and properly equipping bathrooms.

Further cooperation between the Y and Emily has resulted also in the weekly "handicapped swim" every Thursday night.

And that cooperation extended to the Middle Bucks, Hatboro and Lansdale YMCAs, all of which now have lifts like the one in Quakertown, largely as a result of Emily's dedication.

Emily refuses to take much credit for her work. Its to a silent partner that she owes most of the group's success to this point, she says.

She tells the story of a Telford boy who came to the group needing leg braces.

Needing $460 to purchase them, Emily held a yard sale at her home and raised $460.05 - "an unusually high amount for a yard sale," she says.

Revealing who helped her in that and all endeavors, she said "God allowed us to raise the $460.05 at the yard sale."

Now the requests for aid come almost daily.

One person recently explained the need for a $1,000 bath chair for a profoundly impaired youth. Another came from a 74-year-old widow who needed to purchase specially molded $300 shoes for her daughter and there was another request from a local school district for a wheelchair.

The requests are acted upon in a democratic fashion by the membership of the "Friends of the Handicapped" who vote on the requests at their monthly meeting.

To date, in the seven years since beginning her work, Emily estimates the group has helped about 700 handicapped persons in need.

"We've been very fortunate," she says, and except for occasional requests for electric wheelchairs which are exceptionally costly, the group has denied no requests.

Fund-raising occupies much of Emily's time.

She spends her days writing letters, appealing for help. And that doesn't always come in the form of requesting funds.

Emily stresses the group itself needs help from non-handicapped volunteers whom she says "we need desperately to be our arms and legs."

Drivers for the bus is the groups biggest current need, she says.

For the second time this year the bus recently rounded up a handful of handicapped members of "Friends" and took a trip to a local mall, had lunch out and shopped - all rare occurances for those without a readily available form of transportation.

In addition, whenever drivers are available, the bus can be seen pulling out of the driveway in front of Emily's home Sunday mornings on its way to church.

The group is also exploring a trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor which Emily says two members have found to be very accessible to the handicapped.

To help meet the numerous requests for help, the group resorts to bazaars, bake sales, yard sales and contributions from its two biggest supporters, Melody Lakes Mobile Home Park and the Sertoma Club.

Yearly, Sertoma will sell Easter lilies with the proceeds benefitting the "Friends" group. And the proceeds from a balloon launch and square dance to be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Souderton High School by the Mid-East Penn District also will help keep the group viable.

Part of the effort in working for the handicapped leads Emily to consciousness-raising endeavors such as her television program, until recently taped at Pennridge High School.

Because of the lack of a consistent supply of available drivers, however, Emily has resorted to taping the weekly program out of her home with the help of a teacher at the school.

Suburban Cable Co. then airs the interview-formatted show which touches on a variety of issues important to the handicapped.